This week you don't have to complete this Get It Done task; you just need to give these ideas a once-over and then keep them in mind as you do your holiday baking and entertaining. This is because you'll inadvertently be doing lots of recon during the coming weeks — pulling out kitchen items you probably use only once a year, like cookie cutters, platters and double boilers; scavenging around for items that are hidden too deep; or perhaps wondering why you have five spatulas when the most you'll ever need at once is only two. You'll be rejecting table linens, figuring out that some sets are missing key pieces and discovering items you haven't unearthed in years — paper umbrellas for drinks you never make, anyone? These things need to go.

Your assignment for now:

Read this, let the ideas marinate and put off major kitchen organizing until after the holidays, if you wish.

Take notes as you observe the good and the bad about your kitchen drawers and cabinets.

Think about what could make your drawers better and ask questions. What should you move to a more convenient spot? Do you need any organizers to help keep things neat?

Collect never-used items for donation as you go, and pitch or recycle the broken stuff.

Take inventory. For now, start writing down everything that's in your drawers and cabinets on sticky notes. You don't have to do this all at once — leave the notes handy and scribble things down during those spare minutes while you're waiting for the oven to preheat. Stick them on each corresponding drawer and cabinet. It sounds silly, but trust me, simply writing these things down will help you see where you've stashed things in inconvenient spots and identify the items that are useless to you.

Assess. While taking inventory, you're going to start to see places where you can improve organization. Are the pots you use most close to the stove? Is it easy to find their corresponding lids? Are your everyday dishes and glasses within reach of the dishwasher? Do you use all of that Tupperware or is half of it missing lids? Could you use an extra silverware drawer?

Plan. While your urge may be to tackle this project one drawer at a time, we're thinking bigger here. Your kitchen should be a well-oiled machine, and placement and organization of your cookware, serveware, silverware, small appliances and china is key.

• Clear a large space on the counter or kitchen island.• Empty all the drawers.• Group like things together.• Throw anything that looks sketchily dirty in the dishwasher.• Throw away anything that's broken; put anything you don't use that is in good shape in a donation box.• Give all the empty drawers a thorough wipe-down.

Freshen up drawers with new liners. There are scads of cute options out there, and a fresh surface will cheer you up whenever you open a drawer. It will also inspire you to keep things neat and organized.

Likewise, get rid of the messy menu drawer. Recycle those you don't use and hang the rest on a bulletin board or place them in an over-the-door organizer like this one. Better yet, there's probably an app for that; I know I always wind up looking up menus on the Internet anyway.

Corral the loose bags. Dispensers will help you gather plastic bags for recycling or dog walks. (If you don't need this because you are vigilant about bringing your own reusable bags whenever you shop, give yourself a big green pat on the back.)

Group like items together as you reload. Think about what you'll need to grab the most when you're at the stove, and what you'll be transferring from the dishwasher to drawers every day, and place them accordingly.

Divide and conquer. You may realize you need some good drawer organizers as you go along. Put everything where you want it to be, snap a few pictures of the open drawers with your phone, take a quick measurement of your drawers' dimensions and head to The Container Store or Ikea.

So, the next time you open a drawer or cabinet, take a few extra seconds to check out what's going on in there and scribble it on a Post-it note. Whether you're aiming for some fresh contact paper or you're ready to call the cabinetmaker, the assessing and planning that will be simmering on the back burner now will help you attack the kitchen after the holidays.

Becky, once again you make me laugh so hard. Here's my key piece of advice.
HAVE DRAWERS!!
I have a kitchen being installed for a client now and we had very few cupboards. We went with drawers wherever possible. Drawers are so much easier to use allowing you to get at what is in back. But the catch is that you need those organizing interiors. We chose the peg system for dishes and located that drawer across from the dishwasher so it is literally inches from dishwasher to drawer when both are open. We also went with a drawer under the kitchen sink. So much easier to organize and keep it from becoming a scary dark place when you can pull it out. Such great tips. Now how do I get my husband to actually put things back in their correct spot?

To save space in the proverbial "junk drawer" in the kitchen, I have a cute checked box from the Container Store, with a tag marked "bits and pieces." I keep it in my laundry room, and any time I have random whatevers that would normally go in the junk drawer, they go in the box (which I then sort through periodically and purge). My "junk drawer" now has a drawer organizer and is neatly organized with daily/weekly go-to's like batteries, twist ties, scissors, and wine stoppers.

Thanks for the inspiration Becky... I'm dreaming of the perfectly organized kitchen!

Some of these drawers look so neat, it makes me think that the homeowners bought the countents specifically to fit the drawer layout! I do love that double-layer flatware drawer .. but what would I do with the 2 fancy wooden boxes the silver came in (LOL)?!

Ahhhhhhh Drawers!!!! And enough of them nice deep drawers. (Personally, I hate upper cabinets for anything but glassware now). Funny, but drawers are even better for your everyday dishes particularly when you have kids. Setting the table/emptying the dishwasher becomes a task you can hand them with safety and ease. I came to this many years ago as I was working/installing new decor in a clients home, and decided to help myself to a bowl of ice cream. I couldn't find a bowl to save my life! I circled the kitchen and butlers pantry three times. Dang! I really need a cool treat! I put the ice cream back. Circled again. Again!! Finally, muttering THEY MUST HAVE A DAMN BOWL!!! I hauled open a drawer at the island, directly opposite the dishwasher expecting I don't know what. TADA! Neatly stacked white plates and bowls two sizes each. I laughingly told my client of my search, and her words were "hey! they can set the table at four years of age if you put it within their safe reach, and they can empty most of the dishwasher too! Duh! She's a genius!! I set it up for clients in the same manner whenever possible.

Our kitchen design includes lots of deep drawers( hubby is cringing at cost) but definitely more useful than upper cabinets. I'm shorter by 9" than hubby so reaching up in the cabinets is such a chore! Where's my handy footstool? I only ever use the 2 bottom shelves in the uppers. My kids can just reach the bottom shelf now. Bet you the kids would be more helpful if they had drawers instead!

Our (old) built-in wall oven died over the summer and we forced to do a mini kitchen remodel. We wanted a free-standing range, so that's what we did, but we had a little room left around the OTR microwave and range we had installed. We added wine bottle holders around the microwave and sliding (drawer) magnetic spice racks on either side of the range! LOVE IT!!! Plus, we gained back storage from the wall unit!

My only question; Why can't drawers or roll out shelves in lower cabinets also "pop up" . It seems to make sense to me. If it is near the floor, roll it out and then pop it up so there is less bending or stooping. "If we can send a man to the moon. Shirley, we could have pop up drawers." Let's get on this, LADIES!

In our recently renovated 1982 kitchen, I had all of the lower cabinets fitted with pull-out shelves rather than deep drawers due to increasing disability in my hands and wrists: I just wouldn't be able to lift a stack of dishes (plates or bowls), and I prefer to rotate their use so that the same 2 or 3 don't get used exclusively. I have a plate rack in the lower portion of my open shelving above the dishwasher where the plates reside and bowls are in the adjoining shelf in stacks of 4-6 - a manageable amount for me.

As for the "whole drawer" gained from using a plastic wrap organizer, I lived with such an organizer for many, many years, and I really disliked how I had to keep things back from the front area of the cabinet - and it just isn't possible wth my new ktichen cabinets' pull-out shelving. Plus, I have (for once!) a plethora of drawers (17, in varying sizes) plus a pull-out spice pantry - so putting the wrapping boxes in a drawer close to the refrigerator (source of leftovers!) was a no-brainer for me.

I love the ideas presented, and saved several in idea folders - but no one size (or organization tip) fits all.

Just my two cents in what has worked for me. With the exception of the sink base, all my base cabinets are drawers. If you have to squat to see & retrieve an item is an inconvenience at best, a nuisance altogether otherwise, and for some -like me- practically impossible because of limited mobility.

Whether pots & pans, packaged food, or anything I put in the drawer, with drawer open, the looking, finding, retrieving is simply the process of ...opening the drawer!

Which is why I wouldn't like the base pullout of three narrow shelves [pic shows spices on top rack]. Everything is not visible at a glance, simply because you opened the cabinet. You have to bend down to first be able to see (what's actually there) - then have to possibly move one thing to get at another - and you have a semi-troublesome effort to get what you're after. As opposed to simply opening the drawer and being able to immediately see and grab your item.

The foil and plastic wrap holder don't work for me. I spring for a huge commercial size roll of foil for economy ( lasts forever! ) so it goes under the sink. Love other stuff on here, though but as someone else said- how do you get your hubs to put stuff back where it belongs?

A slotted Drawer Knife Holder keeps blades sharp, while a chop block can be conveniently located in the adjacent drawer. The chopping block has storage space below and is removable from the drawer for countertop use.

I'm going to dispute the "go to Ikea" suggestion. I scoured first their website and then their local store for the best-ever flatware drawer organizer (the bamboo one with the carrying handle) that they sold - but no more. The huge flatware organizer I bought from them five years ago - also no longer for sale. They sell, maybe, three drawer organizers (none fit either drawer that needed one). I'm pretty sure that right now their organizer inserts are tied directly to the cabinetry they sell - they no longer market organizers to fit every home, but as supporting items for their full kitchen cabinetry line. This disappoints me.

But I had very good luck at Bed, Bath and Beyond. They sell the best knife drawer organizer ever.

misfit, that is disappointing to hear, I scored lots of great organizers back when they first opened in Atlanta (a very happy day). My favorite organizers are the wire baskets from The Container Store, especially for my desk and junk drawers because they come in all sorts of sizes and you can compose your own organizer out of them.

When I designed my first tiny kitchen redo, I had pullout drawers Inside a cabinet. This allowed for "piling up" linens in one drawer,with plastic storage in drawer below it. Stuff the drawers roll in and close the doors! Did the same for cookware under stove.

Mary Goodson - I can see how you’d have limited room for large lower cabinet drawers in a small kitchen. For "tiny" kitchens, I highly recommend adding pull outs to your cabinets. This will help you maximize your space to the fullest and make the space in the back of your cabinets easier to access.

kariwalsh9 - Depending on the size of the glassware and type… I would store them in a drawer with dividers that can be set to fit you glass ware so they don’t shift as much in the drawer when you open and close them.

Or if you kitchen is going to be mostly lower cabinets, you could find some upper space to have floating shelves or the end of a peninsula or island could be made into open shelving for your regularly used glassware.

Ridiculous suggestion to make a list of all you have in your kitchen... what? Other than that, great ideas. I need to figure out where to put my recycles in our kitchen. It feels good to clean out old stuff. How many sets of bowls do we need? Clear glass, opaque glass, metal, plastic? I'm surprise no one has mentioned the racks that allow you to better use all your cupboard space. I love them in two of my cupboards!

I currently have a 1940's small galley kitchen with newish cabinets installed before I bought the house. All cabinets are doors, I installed the heave gage wire racks (@ all improvement stores, many combinations and sizes). Spent about $500 & completely renewed this space. All the cabinets are now usable! If you don't have drawers, get these, you will not regret it.

We are now building a new 'old farmhouse' home (my husband and I, not a builder!). My new kitchen is large, no upper cabinets (5'1", thank you) - all windows. All my new cabinets will be drawers, except for three that are salvaged from a 100 year old high school in Louisville KY. They are 6' glass front, I've designed the kitchen around them. No more stepping stools or 'honey...! Can you get this?' ...

How to get your husband to put things back? Include him in the kitchen set up... He will have great input, too.

Love this site, I use it every day. Specially when I have a new decision to make on our new build. I value all the input greatly.

Check this out! We are excited to introduce NEW Stainless Steel Drawers and Roll-Out Shelves. For a limited time, this new metal drawer system is available exclusively from Dura Supreme as we partnered with Blum to be the first American manufacturer to bring it to market.

Great suggestions but wish so much that I had a kitchen with wide deep drawers - hard to find in a smallish condo. That being said I'm going to empty all drawers that I do have at the same time (never thought of that) and organize/clean today. One inexpensive suggestion I do have is to use an empty tissue box to corral shopping bags. I use the upright ones for the produce bags and the others for larger shopping bags - a lot less expensive than something from the Container Store and recycles the boxes as well.

dectalk, I've noticed a lot of folks replacing the typical lower cabinet doors with deep drawers. Also, if you have an island, that's another place to retrofit with good storage. I love your tissue box idea - those plastic bags can overtake the house pretty quickly without a good solution like that!

Thank you, Becky, but honestly it's too small and oddly (wonderful) shaped; however, I'm almost through organizing and cleaning the few drawers I have and already have loads of things to donate. No space for an island although I'm considering building in between the studs for canned goods on the unused wall by the entrance . I actually have the exact idea from Houzz.

dectalk, good for you!!! I try to keep on top of thinning out whatever is in my cabinets, but lately it's been a losing battle as that task is competing against my desire to keep my countertops clear of small appliances that I don't use daily (blender, coffee maker, coffee grinder, crock pot etc.) You've inspired me to do the complete overhaul again, thank you! And I remember that "between the studs" article - I thought it was brilliant. Please check back in and let us know how it goes if you decide to do the project!